


Catch Me, Catch You

by orphan_account



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Caulscott - Freeform, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-04 23:45:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5352869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the unexpected reunion that catches both of their breaths. Max Caulfield and Nathan Prescott were once an item to be envied of back in their high school days, but one grew up, and the other stayed behind. Three years later as College Juniors, the two find each other again - except the one who's stayed behind is already far ahead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter was a literal nightmare. I've had problems with my creativity lately, and I usually suck hard with first chapters - which is why this took me nearly two weeks to think about (when it's literally nothing at all). But, I like the idea of this, and I'm in love with them... I hope you will be too.  
> P.S. I don't watch horror enough to know any popular favorites, so I made my own horror movie - and you'll have to live with this horrible decision until the fic ends.

_“So, what?” His voice is dry, and any moment now it is going to crack. “That's it? We're done?” His eyes are glaring at her in pointed frustration, but she doesn't know if its for her, or at himself._

_Max could feel the tears about to fall. How dare he make her feel bad, though. How dare he actually try to guilt trip her over everything he's done to her! “I don't deserve any of this,” she sighs through rattled breath, and she looks up with an anger equal to his own._

_For a moment, she sees a flash of pain flicker through his gaze, but it ends quickly, and he's back on the defense._

_“You're right.” He grinds his teeth, “you don't.” He spits it out – like knives. She feels the pain surge through her and at her heart._

_Her own anger is bubbling inside her as he says those final words, but before she has anything else to say, he steps on the gas, and his red truck is gone._

_Max cursed him._

“What the hell...?” The brunette breathed in heavily as she fluttered her eyes open in confusion and annoyance.

What kind of dream was that? She groaned to herself as the last remaining bits played in her head, mocking her over and over again.

It's been three years, and this was just a sudden memory that came out of nowhere. The breakup with her longest relationship was something she really needed to forget, and how uncool was it to come back to her in a dream? She grimaced.

“No, Max Caulfield. You do not dream about exes, and you certainly do not dream about asshole exes.” She mumbled to herself in agitation, and stared at the ceiling, contemplating on the last time she had seen her ex-boyfriend of 5 years. It was just three years ago – on an August 15th to be exact, only three, but enough to let the feelings of hurt go.

It was August 27th now, and oh God, it was almost his birthday too. Max cringed at the thought of all these useless information coming onto her. Everything was just way too sudden.

She shook her head at even the thought of picturing what he was doing right now; a trip to memory lane was never a good trip unless she had acquired fame and could use the pain and agonizing experience for her own needs – that's what she thought, at least.

Max shut her eyes tightly at the new memories that were invading her thoughts. Grabbing a pillow she squeezed it hard, and pressed it against her face with a hope she'd at least squander something away. “Come on, go back to sleep.” She frowned with her voice muffled by the pillow in her grasp. “Go back to sleep.” She tried to force herself, but she could feel sleep slipping away from her. She groaned.

It was going to be a long night.

And a long night it was.

Max knew she was a goner the moment she pressed “snooze” on her alarm clock. She knew she had the bad habit of sleeping through the second ring, especially when it was a Saturday; when it was her time off – when all she wanted to do was sleep – especially after last night's rude nightmare.

But Fate was mean, and a week ago, Fate got her and her friend, Chloe, to schedule a movie date on this very Saturday, and God forbid not meeting up with Chloe. That was a law she couldn't ignore.

In fact, the moment her brain reminded her of their meet up– which she realized a good several minutes later – which was actually 30 minutes later – she stumbled out of bed, put on any clothes she could find laying around and dashed for it. **Goodbye healthy brunch! Goodbye peaceful morning!**

Hello mayhem.

Max groaned inwardly as she sloppily put makeup on while she rode the shaking bus to her destination. She looked like a zombie no matter how much foundation and concealer she applied – her dark circles only seemed to fade a fraction, and her lips were chapped – and of course her luck would coincidentally have her chap-stick missing from her bag. And no way was she going to put eyeliner. And, oh, God. She looked so horrible. She didn't even want to comment on her getup – a baggy sweater that smelled like her crummy apartment swallowed her entire frame, and a pretty wrinkly, pleated flannel skirt helped her look like a mess.

“Well, you kind of deserve this,” the brunette bit her lip and shoved her foundation back inside her purse. “Karma.” She sighed, and pulled out her cellphone – great, Chloe called about 3 times the last few minutes and the vibration on her phone was off.

“Girl, where the hell have you **_been_**?” Chloe's voice sounded agitated as soon as she called back, and she could practically envision her friend crossing her arms and tapping her foot the way she always gets when she feels let down. “I've been waiting here for, like, **FOREVER**.” Her voice was shaking – filled with hurt.

“I'm so, so sorry, Chloe.” Max let out a tired sigh. Even though she wasn't feeling it, she knew she had to apologize – it was her fault, and it was pretty lame of her to leave her friend alone. “I just...”

“Let me guess, you ignored your alarm.” Chloe knew her well. “It's almost 12, Max! I mean, I'd get it if it was like 8AM in the morning, but it's almost noon, and you _know_ how I've been **waiting** for this day!”

Max had to roll her eyes on this one. Chloe was obviously exaggerating about this horror movie. She had counted down since the time the first commercials were released, and hadn't let Max off the hook about it for months!

What kind of horror movie was it for her best-friend to be so thrilled? If it wasn't a B-Movie it still couldn't be that good, could it? Max let out an inward groan as she thought of the plenty of films she watched before that left her rather disappointed. She rather make fun of dark themes then actually enjoy them...unlike some certain people.

“I'm almost there, I promise.” Max pursed her lips into a firm line and took out a brush. She hastily tried taking out all the midnight knots that formed in her hair and yanked a good amount while she struggled to do so. “Give me 5 more minutes.”

“I'll only give you 5 more, Max. After that, I'm headin' in!” Chloe half-threatened, but before she could say anything else the line went dead.

Max made another sigh. Sometimes, she wished Chloe wasn't an extrovert. She already wished she were in the warm confines of her bed. Sleeping in sounded so much better right now, especially when she looked like trash, and some of Chloe's antics always _did_ get them in weird trouble.

“Just a few hours, and you can go home,” the girl fidgeted in her seat and watched the scenery pass by her.

A cluster of skyscrapers surrounded everything, and there were little to few trees that could be seen other than the planted dogwood. Living in Portland was very different than living back in Arcadia Bay where everything was swallowed by greenery. There were a ton more shops and a lot less open road, and the air was a little stuffier, but it was livelier, and she enjoyed it.

Living in Portland was a dream come true after she had graduated high school and gotten into a great photography program at her university. Her parents had helped her pack her bags and move into an apartment nearby, and she had since been mesmerized by the difference the city had over the small town.

Now three years later, the city was still as gorgeous to her as the day she had first set her eyes on it. “ _I'll never get tired of Portland, huh?_ ” She let a small smile through, and Max watched the variety of colors whizz by her. She could tell her destination was nearing, and the ride was coming to an end.

Unsurprisingly, when her stop came a good 10 minutes later, Chloe was still hanging out at the cafe in front of it, waiting for her despite her threat to leave. She looked mellower and more content now that she had a coffee in her hands, and her smile seemed to grow when she saw Max step out of the bus.

“Fucking finally!” The woman smiled and stood up quickly, letting small splashes of coffee hit the pavement floor. “We have like 20 minutes left till it starts, I already bought the tickets!” She threw the brew away in the closest trash can she could find, and pushed Max to the booth that had already formed a line.

 _Jeez, is this movie that popular?_ Max rose her brow at the groups of people excitedly talking among one another while they waited. A lot of people were asking for tickets to see **The Devil's House II** , and a lot more were wearing some old paraphernalia.

Max smiled at the people geeking out, it kind of made her want to do the same, and the shirts were by far impressive, even though it could be kind of corny. Some people even wore red face paint – it was like entertainment of its own!

She scanned the people, interested to see if there was anything that beat the man with the full Satan get-up, complete with inflatable pitchfork. She could already tell this movie, if not scary, was going to be hilarious.

“See anything you like?” Chloe rolled her eyes as she let her friend observe the other fans that had met for the movie's opening.

“Well, I'd say I'd give Mr. Satan a 9.5 out of 10,” Max joked with her, and she could hear Chloe's “No way, seriously? Where – oh my fucking God, let me just take a picture, hold up,” far in the distance. She laughed at her friend's enthusiasm, but stopped halfway as more people came in, making the line even longer.

 _Great, I think I should find Chloe now_...Max smiled. At least they had tickets on them, now.

“Aren't you at least excited about seeing this?” A girl's voice pierced through everyone else's conversations.

Max searched for Chloe; where was that Satan?

“Yeah, I am, I'm just not excited about the _people_ ,” another voice replied, and it was familiar, but strangely...soft.

The voice that had suddenly came out of nowhere from her nightmare, suddenly ripped into the present, and made Max halt in her attempt to find her friend.

She stood frozen at the voice that was the same, but different; the voice that used to talk to her in such a soothing way, and then in an angry accusatory one. It caused her to shiver – his voice always had that effect on her.

Immediately, and impulsively, Max searched for the owners of the voice – her curiosity got the best of her, and she _needed_ to discover who it was, even if her mind was telling her not to go down that road – even if she already knew who it was, but hey, some people had the same voice-box, some people could easily sound like that jerk – that asshole, her ex-boyfriend. Chloe seemed to be busy talking to the man in Satan's costume, too busy to realize that her friend was looking pretty weird – her gaze going from left to right so quickly it could give anyone a headache.

“Oh come on, I bought the tickets for you!” The girl laughed.

And then, Max spotted her.

Her hair was sunshine, and her eyes glowed – they were mesmerizing – they were as blue as the clearest day, and they laughed loudly. Her actual laugh was pretty, too – it was a songbird's whistle and it chimed as sharp as a bell; it caught many peoples attention - and it brightened the day– she's beautiful. She's gorgeous, and for some reason, Max is terrified of her. To top her qualities off, she also had one of those smiles – the kind that was contagious – the bright, toothy type that stretched to her ears – she was a rarity – a diamond in the rough; a diamond in Portland.

And Max felt strange despair churn in her stomach.

But despite her radiance, she was not the person Max's eyes focused with full attention. Her voice wasn't the magnet to her ears, no, it was the man holding her that got her blood pumping and made her heart jump.

“And I'm grateful for that, Rach, I really am.” Nathan Prescott stood before Max, holding the woman gently, while pressing a kiss to her cheek, he had a small smile on his face – a lazy one, an unfamilarly kind one.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Chloe head into the movie theater only to sit next to Nathan and Rachel. Max realizes that the last three years might not have changed her feelings, but it certainly has changed Nathan's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sucky chapter summary, I hope I didn't leave anything out, and also, sorry for such a terrible horror movie. I'm pretty generic to begin with - but here is chapter 2. Enjoy!

Max stared at the tall figure that stood before her; arm hooked around the enchanting woman. He hadn't noticed her yet as he was too invested in littering the poor girl with kisses, but it took him a few more seconds to realize he was being watched.

In almost an instant, his kind nature had suddenly faded into a look of frustration, but as soon as he realized who she was, his expression changed to that of a surprise. His mouth hung open slightly, and Max watched him shyly; she took a particular interest in his grip around the woman's waist that hadn't even budged upon seeing her. A part of her selfishly hoped he'd let go of her in his shock, but it didn't happen.

“M-Max, is that you?” Max's heart pounded quickly at the sound of his voice. She told herself it had been three years, and three years wasn't long enough, but did she sure _miss_ that particular ring of his. She fumbled for a moment, her fingers gripping tightly onto the ends of her sweater's sleeve until she realized herself that what she was wearing was completely unacceptable.

She looked like trash, and this was unfair... Of course, she would look like this when the girl close to him looked like a goddess. Karma was a bitch, but it shouldn't be _that_ cruel!

She suddenly grew more aware of her appearance and mentally chided to herself on preparing herself for these situations.

“Oh, uh, it's nice to see you again,” She breathed uncomfortably and fidgeted. “It's been how long?” She laughed nervously, and she watched the young man gaze at her with a frown taking form.

“Three years.” He muttered under his breath, and rubbed the nape of his neck in some sort of shame for remembering something like that. Nathan never liked to remember silly details, especially if information like that were useless, so Max felt some form of hope rise-- _but, hope? Wait, no no no no, what are you thinking Max? You're_ _ **done**_ **.**

Max nodded and bit her lower lip honestly wishing she could go home, maybe somehow develop some sort of super power that would warp her back to her bed.

“So, uh,” Nathan was always bad with conversations too, Max knew, and that part of him didn't really change. He stuffed his hand back into his coat's free pocket, and gazed at her with something burning in his eyes. “How have you been?” Max also knew he hated small talk, and she could laugh at him for trying, but she didn't...

Because he was honestly trying.

“I've been well, you know, still taking photography... University is still a killer.” She joked with a crumbling laughter – realizing how poorly it was, and Nathan nodded absentmindedly.

“I see,” he responded back, and it was strange for them to talk in such a way, especially for Nathan to be giving into the small talk he hated so much. Usually, he would have complained about this to her, but it was like all his aggression the past three years disappeared or was being repressed to the point she couldn't tell if his anger was there anymore.

Max lowered her gaze, and nodded in sync with Nathan's own movements; a small laugh escaped from her throat; it was dry.

 

She should have never approached him as if it would have changed anything. The fact was they were exes now, and they didn't break up in the friendliest way either. She didn't know why she had to see if the voice really did belong to Nathan because now that it really did belong to him, she had no idea what to do.

All she knew was she was left even more confused and even more frustrated and even more sad, and it got her angry that three years of absence did nothing to make her feel alright.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the woman next to Nathan noticed the tension in the air and grabbed his arm with a fond dazzling smile. “I thought Nathan would be a gentleman and introduce me, but I guess I'll have to do it myself!” She spoke with an exaggerated pout and gazed into Max's eyes with a hint of amusement. Nathan grunted, but Max could have sworn his cheeks turned into a light shade of pink. “My name is Rachel.” She grinned. “Rachel Amber!”

“It's nice to meet you!” She stuck her hand out towards Max, and Max grew embarrassed as well. Rachel really was pretty. Every movement she made was direct and commanding, a little like Chloe's, but a lot more friendlier and soothing.

“Oh, uhm, yeah, it's nice to meet you! I'm Max. Max Caulfield.” She reached for the girl's hand, and wasn't surprised the handshake would be firm. Rachel Amber was confident...and everything that Max never was.

It honestly hurt Max, maybe it was Nathan's vengeance or some form of unconscious anger that got him finding a girl that was completely _opposite_ from her. Max shook her head, she was petty, and maybe Nathan chose Rachel because he really did love her.

Rachel smiled at Max's touch for a split second before letting go and shielding her hand over her eyes from the sunlight creeping from the back of the building. “I know this is kind of a weird reunion between you two, and I'm sure Nate would love to talk to you more, but it looks like the movie is about to start!” She gestured towards the shortening line, and Max was surprised that only a few people were left.

“Hey, Max!” Chloe finally caught up to her and ran towards their tiny group and lay her arm around her shoulders. “I was looking all over for you, where the hell have you been?” Her friend let out a sigh and gazed at the two people she had been having a light chat with. “I see you've made some new friends while I was away,” the blue-haired girl grinned rather devilishly at her friend, and her eyes lingered on Nathan and Rachel with interest.

“Pretty hot friends--”

“--Chloe!” Max shoved her completely embarrassed and not too far from annoyance.

Rachel let out an airy laugh while Nathan's scoff and rigidity went noticed by everyone.

“Well, now that your friend is here!” The long-haired blonde let a smile settle on her face, “We already bought tickets, so we'll be heading in!” Rachel grinned and Nathan rolled his eyes and made an offhanded comment about waiting too long outside for no reason. Max winced. _Right, she really was nothing now._ Before the girl could completely pull Nathan away, the two stopped at the entrance and gazed back at Max, Rachel began to wave while Nathan was looking away timidly. “Hey! If we ever meet up after the movie theater, we can totally exchange numbers and hang out, or look us up on Facebook!” She hollered, and Max waved bashfully back with a soft “alright.”

Before Max even knew it they disappeared into the building; their figures faded away.

Max had never paid attention to her heart until the two were gone from her sight. Now that they weren't in front of her, she finally noticed that it was speeding faster than it has ever done – it was like adrenaline was running through her veins. She could feel her whole body turn incredibly hot as the post excitement took over her – it shook her uncomfortably.

“I'd actually _love_ to ask you questions about them,” Chloe interrupted the rushing thoughts screaming in her head, and Max _really_ wanted to vent about this to her friend, but she seemed in a rush, and for a moment she forgot that they had originally come for the movie as well.

Chloe made a smug smile as she crossed her arms and gave her a raised brow, the girl obviously knew when some shit was going on with Max,“and I'm _sure_ you'd love to give me the dirt.” Max looked at her friend bashfully. “But, you know, we got a movie to watch as well!” The girl nudged her and pulled her towards the cinema.

 

When Max had seen the crowds of people line up in front of the box office, she hadn't realized it was a _huge_ group of people.

As soon as Chloe and her reached the theater room, most of the seats were filled, and an audience was hypnotized by the movie teasers playing on the screen. Max hadn't really taken in the huge amount of fans that were looking forward to watching **The Devil's House II,** and now that she was at the very bottom of the theater, it honestly surprised her to see such a big following.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, Chloe preferred the seats Max didn't really enjoy. There were a few seats at the very front of the room that Max always tried to avoid because she hated craning her head upwards in a weird position, but it was no use arguing when the movie was about to start.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, the person Max had taken a seat next to was Nathan, who happened to be the other reason she hated front seats to begin with. He always enjoyed watching movies in the first row, one.)because less people opted for that particular area, and he genuinely enjoyed being completely alone – separate from the other obnoxious people, and two.) because he preferred seeing the movie up close and personal.

Nathan raised a brow as he watched her take a seat next to him. He always knew Max hated this section, and was surprised and seemed slightly annoyed she was right beside him. Max felt ashamed when he looked around the cinema for a few seconds to see if there were any spare seats left, but he stopped as soon as Rachel tapped his shoulder to keep him focused.

_ Seriously, what an asshole _ . Max couldn't focus on the movie at all with the blatant discomfort Nathan was showing. She was getting agitated herself and practically began fidgeting in her seat, and tapping on the arms of her chair. Seriously, damn Chloe for not taking the seat she was in because it wasn't in the exact  _ center  _ of the room. Max glowered at her friend in secret who happened to be enjoying the sudden slaughter in the dining room.

_ Alright, alright, calm down, Max _ . The girl groaned to herself and made a series of taps on her knee to act as a rhythm that usually kept herself relaxed. She hadn't used this security blanket in forever, but seeing as that she was facing one of her worst nightmares during a horror movie, it was safe to start now. Max let out a few deep sighs that otherwise went unheard, and gazed anywhere that blocked her peripheral vision.

She could feel her heart pounding against her chest even harder as she stared at the seat in front of her, and gazed at her shoes. She absolutely looked like a complete moron, but at least it got her to not stare at the side of Nathan's face like a creep.

It was then she realized that Nathan's left leg was bouncing up and down in a subtle bob. Max bit her lower lip. She knew what that meant, he was nervous as well, and he was doing his own little habit that helped him cope somewhat.

Sadly, that got her own anxiety acting stronger, and she gulped, and tapped harder against the seat's arm.  _ Why was  _ _**he** _ _ nervous? It couldn't be her because he wasn't the type of person that lingered on exes like her. The last time they saw each other definitely told her he hadn't really cared about her, so it couldn't be because it was her, right?  _ _**Unless he changed his mind about her...** _

_ 1, 2, 3...1, 2, 3... _ Max counted to herself.

The scene that was playing before them was exceptionally gruesome, and that got Max to feel a lot worst when blood began flowing everywhere. Honestly, she should have been used to this with the countless times Nathan had taken her to see such dark films, but it never stopped her from feeling pretty bad.

Max looked up for one second, as soon as she thought the gore was over, but of course, the moment she decided was the right time, one of the protagonists' would get beheaded. She bit her lip hard, but not enough to draw any blood. She could seriously feel herself get colder. At least it was temporarily taking her mind off of Nathan – wait, dammit – oops, there he was...in her thoughts again.

_ 1, 2, 3... 1, 2, 3...1, 2, 3...1, 2, 3...  _ She tapped, and tapped, and tapped, and tapped, until suddenly a strong grip took her wrist, and her hand hovered up slightly.

Max opened her eyes to see Nathan gazing at her with a pretty deadpan expression. Everyone else was incredibly intent on watching whatever was going on in the scene, there were a few screams there, and a few chainsaws ripping in the air, so Chloe wasn't watching her, and Rachel seriously wasn't even noticing Nathan wasn't paying attention.

“Quit it, you're making me nervous.” His voice was hushed and low, and he seemed more nervous than agitated; Max could feel his hold shake a little.

She had even noticed his hands were a bit clammy and cold, just like her's, and if anything, a little sweaty. Max brought her gaze to his and nodded quietly.

“Jeez, I don't fucking know why you would watch a movie like this to begin with.” The brunet sighed and brought his attention back to the film.

Max hung her mouth open as if to argue back that she was doing this for a friend, but she stayed silent as another thought clung to her.  _ She was making him  _ _**nervous** _ **.** Max gulped.

 

The rest of the movie, Max tried to pay attention, but the thought lingered in her mind, and prevented her from taking a huge interest; she was too bothered by Nathan's words, and even if it didn't mean anything to him, it meant a whole lot to her.

When the movie was finally finished and the crowds of people began leaving the room with mixed reactions to the film's existence, Max listened to Chloe's rave, while Nathan remained seated ranting to Rachel about why the movie was “lackluster”.

She could practically see Chloe roll her eyes as the blue-haired girl listened to her exe's reasons. Max tried to prevent a smile from reaching her face as she heard Nathan's logical bullet points on why “the protagonist was the biggest idiot he had ever seen in any movie in the history of cinema.”

“No one fucking opens the door when you hear shit like that and  **all of your friends are in the same room with you** ,” Max listened to Nathan, sketching the tone of his voice in her mind... She shook her head relentlessly when she realized she was beginning to be fond of it, again.

Seriously, she needed to chill.

“Hate to burst your elitist bubble, but Aaron  **totally** answered the door because he thought it was Adam's brother.” Chloe joined in the conversation with a pretty wry smile herself.

**Chloe also needed to chill.**

Nathan glanced at Chloe as if she had ruined one of the thousand dollar monochrome photos he hung in his room. At least, that's how Max saw his expression change from slight irritation to complete annoyance. Max also swore he was about to say something, but before he could even utter out a word, Rachel jumped in with a, “me too!”

“I'm  **pretty sure** they all thought it was Adam's brother, Nate.” Rachel grinned. “I mean, they had gotten off a call from him a few minutes before the knock.”

“Yeah, I'm sure that's the answer because the brother was obviously nearby to come save them.” Nathan rolled his eyes. Max smiled.

“Maybe there was a time skip!” Rachel countered with a challenging grin. She playfully poked Nathan's cheek as she explained her idea with grand hand gestures. “I mean, movies have a tight schedule you know.”

Chloe nodded and leaned over Max reaching her hand out to get a hi-five from the other girl.

Max watched Nathan glance away from Rachel for a second, the way he usually did out of habit when he was about to argue back in a fiercer way. He pressed his tongue against his cheek, she could see the small pocket bulge slightly against his mouth, and Max knew where this was going. She rolled her eyes, was he still childish?

“Okay...” Nathan brought up raising his hand in a defeated air. Max watched him, surprised.“But, if you're going to make that a reason, at least admit it was still shitty of them for making a nonexistent transition.” Was he seriously not arguing back? Was he seriously conceding to her? Max felt her stomach drop, and something in her bubble.

“Okay, then!” Rachel laughed merrily. “It  **was** pretty shitty of them.”

And before Max knew it, the girl leaned towards her ex, and planted a soft kiss against his cheek. Nathan only smiled kindly back.

_ Seriously? Seriously?  _ _**Seriously?** _

“--Oh, hey!” Rachel only then recognized Max who left her thoughts immediately and gazed at her with her own surprised look. “I didn't notice you there, you're like...some kind of ninja, huh?” She looked at her with a funny smile. “Max, right? I didn't forget!” The girl made the victory hand sign as she pulled away from Nathan.

This was so embarrassing, Max hated this. Nathan wouldn't even look back at her after that kiss, and she felt so cheap. She felt so...ignored. Not like it wasn't something to expect, but...it still hurt a bit.

What did the last three years even teach her?

“Right, Max! And you're, uh, Rachel... Rachel Amber.” Max knew she wouldn't be able to get this name out of her head for a long time.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max suffers overthinking and waiting for a phone call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't a very interesting chapter, but the next one should probably get everyone excited - maybe! Anyway, I still enjoyed writing it, and I hope, I at least, expressed how good Chloe and Max's relationship is! 
> 
> Also, this chapter pretty much establishes Max's high school life - not really bad, but not the nice kind...anyway "not as bad as Mean Girls", right? Still unsure if I should write more memories about her past or let you guys think about anything that's not as bad as mean girls...or maybe I'm kidding myself, maybe the Vortex Club really was a bad group of Mean People.
> 
> Suffer my poorly chosen titles for anything in this fanfiction, by the way.
> 
> Because I practically mulled through such an action-less chapter, you can totally expect a more "action-paced" one next time! And I promise it will come sooner!

It had only been a week since she had reunited with Nathan, but Max felt like it was forever since she had last seen him.

There was a lot to catch up on, even if she didn't really want to. Hell, even Nathan blatantly expressed his annoyance when it came to exchanging numbers, but it was thanks to Rachel's stubbornness he had quickly handed her a hastily scribbled contact number.

Max had taken that piece of paper with hesitation, and a part of her wanted to toss herself off a cliff when she had thanked him for it. The truth was, she didn't want the number at all, either, but for some reason Rachel's insistence kept her on her toes and made her take it... She didn't know why, but the woman was ferocious and intimidated her even when there was no reason for her to feel intimidated. Seriously, why would she even feel remotely scared of Rachel? She had no idea.

Rachel Amber was a peculiar person. She was extremely...different from anyone Max had ever met... even when it came to comparing her with Chloe....

She had a strong personality. It wasn't violent like her best-friend's but it was equally...demanding and sharp. Hell, she was vicious in her own strange way, and Max understood that seeing that she had “tamed the beast.”

Max could tell she was amazing, just by how Nathan treated her... He treated her like she was the most important thing in his life. At least, Max could sense that for once, money wasn't a priority when it came to the female. … Hell, Max supposed she would have felt the same way if she were Nathan – Rachel was beautiful and... special – you could just get that vibe from her. She had a charisma about her that got peoples' heads to turn and do her bidding, or have them feel _guilty_ and _bad_ over nothing which was **pretty awesome**!

Max smiled. At least she was a cool person and not a major bitch Max might have wished for every day on Nathan after their breakup long ago (until she forgot all about it).

She almost chuckled at the ritualistic behavior she exhibited in the past. _Boy, I was pretty scary then, too huh? I hope Rachel's not like me after a bad day..._

Her smile quickly turned to a frown.

The past was...really bad. At least, not as bad as _Mean Girls_ , but...she couldn't believe half the shit she did as a high school groupie. She sincerely **hoped** the girl wasn't anything like herself three years ago, and while she did realize how horrible she was, she quickly did her best to make amends from the shitty personality she cultivated as a Vortex club member....

The Vortex Club.  _ Never again _ .

Max groaned. If anyone ever had any embarrassing high school stories, she would be the one that would have plenty of them to reach the moon and back.

“Rachel probably had an amazing high-school life, too.” Max groaned again. She couldn't help but compare herself to the woman, for no reason (yet again).

She couldn't believe how incredibly spiteful she could get when it came to someone so nice. It probably came from her highschool days. At least, she liked to blame that.

Rachel. Here she was, thinking about her again.... It's been five days, and it's always been her on her mind – even more prominent than Nathan.

Just thinking about them both made her skin crawl, but she couldn't help it. It bothered her more than she liked to pretend...

Speaking of Rachel and what had been bothering her the past days...

Rachel also had a strange interest in Nathan and _their_ relationship, and claimed that Nathan needed more friends because he couldn't seriously hang out with her “24/7” no matter how many times he denied they hung out that much.

Max felt her stomach plummet when Rachel had said those dreaded numbers. The intimidation only spiked up higher when she realized that 24/7 really meant... _**24/7...** _ not only did they spend the day together, but...at  _ night _ . Not even in her 5 year-relationship with Nathan did they ever get that kind of privacy...and back then it would have been helpful, that was for sure...

Max wondered about their relationship even more when she had spouted those numbers. How long have they known each other? How long have they been dating? Did they already sleep together, yet? Of course, duh, stupid! They're with each other 24/7 – they're bound to have sex at some point!

She hated it. She really did, and the questions that kept popping up in her head would never stop.

She needed to stop.

Max shook her head as if to shake the anxious thoughts away. She had absolutely nothing to do with Rachel or Nathan.... _ especially Nathan _ ... The past was the past...she needed to focus on now.

“Now” was great! “Now” was pretty much okay, except for the fact that she really hated knowing her ex wasn't the douchebag he was anymore, at least from what she could understand. _Ok, stop_.

It was funny to Max that after they had broke up he had decided to finally stop being immature because that was the only reason why she had broken up with him in the first place.  **And, right,** she needed to forget this too, because this was the past now. Oops.

Max exhaled and rolled onto her stomach as she lay on her bed. It's only been one week, but it was enough time to get her feeling so many things she kept dormant.

It's only been a week since he had handed her his number... Her stomach churned at the thought that he would possibly call her sometime in the future, and it sadly became some sort of an obsession for her to check her phone more than usual.

She really didn't care if he didn't call, though, but it _would_ be a waste of anxiety for him not to.

Tapping onto her iPhone's screen she looked frustrated at the empty message application. Well, it would certainly make sense for Nathan to give his number away and avoid calling, at least one of them was moving on the way they _intended_ to.

**Not like she didn't move on. She was just...angry, that was all. She completely moved on. She wouldn't be in university having a successful life and a pretty good GPA if she hadn't moved on.**

Max furrowed her brows and set her phone down the fifteenth time in the last thirty minutes. She really hated this. She should have never accepted Nathan's number, maybe, if she had turned him down publicly she would have at least felt somewhat smug, at least she could have shown him she had moved on herself. At least outwardly she could have pretended and be all high and mighty.

But she also knew, right after she would do that sort of display she'd have felt guilty too, and possibly suffered some form of karmic revenge.

So, really, Max was always going to lose to _him..or was it Rachel?_ Another sigh.

“Okay, girl, I know you're troubled and everything, but would it really kill you to tell me what's going on?” Chloe's voice piped from the corner of her room, and she had almost forgotten her blue-haired friend had stayed the night. Max jolted up feeling ridiculous. She had totally zoned out, and Chloe had been observing her the entire time. She looked stupid. _Shit!_

“No, I'm okay. Just daydreaming!” She answered way too quickly and her friend let out a knowing smirk. They had never really gotten to talk about Nathan after they had left the movie theater, now that she thought about it.

That day, Nathan and Rachel had to leave earlier than expected, right after he had handed her his number, she remembered Nathan receiving a call, and talking in a stern voice, and how annoyed he looked. He had whispered something into Rachel's ear, and she had nodded in understanding, and without another second, they had bid their farewell to them.

_Nathan probably wanted to get away from me fast, anyway._ Max chewed her lower lip in contemplation. Yeah, alright, she had to stop being so negative about them.

But seriously, when they left that would have been the perfect opportunity to talk about her ex, but Chloe had to “jam” and leave for another rendezvous with her drug dealer. Apparently, if she missed the appointed time the man was out of their deal, and she would forever be on his unreliable customer list where she had pointedly explained she would get the “bad shit” not the good ones.

“Come on, girl, you can't brush me off.” Her friend continued, sitting up from the floor, cross-legged and excited to hear something worth gossiping with her other friends.

“Well, if you weren't so busy with your drugs,” Max began the joke with no ill-intention, and saw Chloe roll her eyes in self-defense. The blue-haired woman's shoulder slacked which automatically spelled a disinterest in her. “You know I'm kidding, right?” The brunet laughed timidly.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” The woman shrugged with an audible sigh, “Hey, you should seriously try some stuff, you'd at least feel a bit better about your whole dilemma – whatever it is.”

Max drew her brows together and frowned. “You know I seriously hate that stuff.” She glanced over to her and looked at her hands, scratching the sides of her index finger.

Chloe didn't know about her past Vortex Club lifestyle since they had literally met her first year in college, and she felt like it would be better this way...at least for now. Vortex life wasn't really something to brag about anyway, and it was more of an embarrassing story for rebel grand kids in the future that Max can't even imagine ever happening.

She wasn't ever really into the drug scene, but... it did a few numbers on her and her relationship with old friends.

“I know, chill, ok? “ Chloe leaned against her wall and took a magazine carelessly from her stand. “You said your ex was a hard-core addict, right? I get it, the asshole was more focused on his supplies than you; it's always like that when you meet them at some teenage party.” She brushed it off so casually it kind of made Max feel angry, but she couldn't put it on Chloe to totally understand.

Max only hummed at her response and took her phone from her night stand once again to check if any notification happened during the last few seconds – _of course none,_ but it was worth a shot anyway, maybe notifications somehow slipped up and forgot to mention Nathan's texts – who knows? It could happen. **Still nothing, though.**

She placed the phone down again and grimaced.

“Dude...You're acting like a love-sick child, just give up on whoever you're waiting for, and let's go to the bookstore or somethin' – there's this new manga I found that's pretty gruesome, let's check it out,” Her friend stated and flipped to another page, but hoisted herself up anyway to prepare herself to leave.

Max sunk her head on a pillow and continued to stare at her phone's screen. She hated the feeling of exchanging any contact information just for pleasantry... It made no sense.

“Come _on,_ Max! It's been a week.” Chloe whined, and suddenly Max felt a pair of hands wrap around her legs to drag her out of the bed. Max laughed, but clung onto one of her bed's posts with her own whine to match. “Delete the number and the next time you see 'em, sock 'em!” Her friend continued and her fingers started to crawl up on Max's waist ready to tickle her. Chloe was hovering above her with a wicked grin – she was prepared to attack at any moment now.

“Jesus, Chloe – s-stop!” She could barely stop herself from laughing as soon as those horrible fingers came to kill her sides, and she felt her grip loosen around the wooden post. “Okay, okay, I'll go, I'll go –  **just STOP** .' She wanted to kick the girl right off of her, and she almost did if it weren't for friend's quick reaction.

Chloe hopped off of her immediately and placed her hands on her hips with a triumphant gaze looming at her.

“Alright, so get ready in five and let's roll out of here!”

Max gave the loudest sigh she could muster and shut her bedroom door as soon as her friend stepped out to change her clothes as fast as possible.

 

 

The moment they stepped into the bookstore, she could smell that unique scent of book pages in the air.

Max always loved going to McDermott's Book Cafe because it was always quiet and well-hidden, and it felt  _**cozy** _ _ – just right _ – she didn't feel anxious at all in such a place; she had to thank Chloe for taking her here.

While the Book Cafe happened to look small, it boasted a large collection of both first edition classics, and the newest comic books to date! It had a huge variety of collections and was popular with hobbyists and practically the entire English department at school. She had seen so many professors make inquiries at the front desk, she couldn't imagine how much the store was booking!

It was truly a place to hang out for someone like her. It was a wonderful place because she felt like she could be herself in there, it was also the same place she and Chloe happened to chance upon, and she felt somewhat grateful and connected to it because of that.  **Thank Chloe, once again! Thank McDermott's for being a heaven on Earth.**

Max noticed the small decorations hanging from the ceiling. Those were new and kind of cute. They were made out of newspaper or something, maybe cardboard? And were cut into snowflakes. Pretty crafty for an equally crafty environment.

Chloe made a b-line to the Manga section all the way in the back of the room while Max made her way through the bookshelves with no interest in purchasing anything, but with the intent to find something that could keep her mind away from her ex.

_ Mystery... No thanks, not really into that. Horror...Nope! Romance...no way. Fantasy? Alright. Science Fiction,  _ _**now here's a keeper** _ . Max skimmed through the titles quickly and flipped through numerous, technicolored covers with 1960s illustrations of robots and what 2014 would like in the future based on some afro-styled author.

Max smiled at the covers, especially one from  _ The Time Traveler's Guide to Who Knows Where.  _ She laughed under her breath and could instantly feel the heaviness she had formed back in home lighten up.

She even wondered why she had worked herself up on such a stupid thing like a phone call from an ex. She shook her head.

There were far better things to do than worry about Nathan Prescott, like wondering how anyone could ever come up with a sci-fi book about a time-traveling Afro samurai.

“You got everything you needed because I found mine!” Chloe crept from behind and haphazardly waved her manga around. “We came here just in time, this is the  **very last copy of the order they got today!** ” She grinned. “Come on, I'm in a good mood – I'll pay!” And with that, she snatched the book from Max's hands and left to the front desk.

Max smiled as she watched her best-friend work her discounting charm (only not really actually get the discount because they're not lowering anything for students no matter how 'cute'), and laughed when Chloe tossed her a look of hurt when she had forked up her last twenty dollar bill of the month.

“Come on, I'll pay for dinner.” The brunette only had to make an offer since her friend had gotten through such a sad realization, and happily grasped onto her hand.

It never really donned on her that holding hands with Chloe would ever mean anything, but it all felt weird when she stepped out of the store and found Nathan standing outside of it, looking at her with another puzzled expression.

 

 

 

 


End file.
